


Time Stands Still

by Amikotsu



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Arranged Marriage, BAMF Women, F/F, Feminist Themes, Fuinjutsu, Generation Swap, Illegal Activities, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Lesbian Character, Nurses, Time Travel, War, Wartime Romance, Women Being Awesome, Women's Rights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29443041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amikotsu/pseuds/Amikotsu
Summary: Ino wrapped an arm around Sakura and pulled the girl flush against her side. Fifteen was too young, too young for marriage, too young for war. The newspapers had finally named the war: They called it the Third Shinobi War, just another in a line, not the first, not the last.Where women aren't allowed to be shinobi, Ino takes it upon herself to push the boundary lines and prove that women are just as competent as men, maybe moreso, and she belongs on the front lines with them, not stuck in the village, being married off like an object. When she gets the chance to prove herself, something goes terribly wrong.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Nara Shikamaru & Yamanaka Ino, Yamanaka Ino's Mother/Yamanaka Inoichi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 29
Collections: Naruto AU Week 2021





	1. Fifteen

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Time Travel

Flat on her back, hands clasped behind her head, Ino stared up at the flickering stars. The lingering heat and humidity of the day left sweat along her brow. Ino crossed her legs at her ankles and moved a hand from behind her head to point at a cluster of stars. Beside her, Sakura squinted at the sky, trying to find a name for the constellation. She and Ino struggled with something so basic; in the end, Ino let her hand fall. The name of the constellation mattered little to her, not when they had less than an hour left before Ino's father came to collect her and remind her of her responsibilities. Ino focused on the light breeze, the way the wind carried the heavy scent of honeysuckle from somewhere deeper in the garden. Sakura sighed, a sign of contentment, then she turned her head and smiled. Ino snorted and reached out to prod Sakura's forehead. They shared a smile though.

"We're going to Kusagakure soon," Ino said, her words quiet. She knew Sakura hated talking about the war, but Sakura also allowed Ino a few minutes to ramble, just enough time to share her feelings on the subject. "Shikamaru thinks he might be shipped out. Age doesn't matter anymore," Ino frowned, resting her hands atop her stomach, fingers laced. 

"Are you surprised? You knew it would happen. That's just how things are," Sakura replied, her voice soft, as if trying to ward off Ino's temper. Sakura wasn't usually so demure, but the war made her gloomy, reserved. Ino hated that. "He'll be fine, Ino. He's so smart. He's a _genius_. If anyone can survive, he can."

"He shouldn't have to! Kids shouldn't be on the battlefield. We shouldn't be at war. And we're stuck here!" Ino sat up, hands resting in the grass, fingers tangling in the blades. She glared into the night, as if there were something to see there, some enemy, some monster. Sakura sat up next and rested a hand atop Ino's right shoulder. "If this is how things are, if this is how it's going to be, we should be out there too. We could be doing something. Women are strong too, as strong as any man, but we're stuck playing civilians."

"You know if someone heard that, you'd get into a lot of trouble," Sakura mumbled, leaning into Ino's side. For a moment, Ino thought that Sakura had ended the discussion. "I want to do something too. I know I can. It's just my parents," Sakura continued, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap. "I heard them talking about marriage yesterday, like that's all I'm good for."

Ino wrapped an arm around Sakura and pulled the girl flush against her side. Fifteen was too young, too young for marriage, too young for war. The newspapers had finally named the war: They called it the Third Shinobi War, just another in a line, not the first, not the last. Shikamaru had mentioned the key nations and where the battles were focused, most of them taking place in smaller nations. Ino could only imagine how the smaller nations looked, overrun with shinobi, land destroyed. At least it wasn't their home. When the thought surfaced, like a whisper, Ino felt guilty. In those nations, people, people just like her, suffered, being dragged into war, kicking and screaming, while Ino ranted about sexism and the frail male ego. She wanted freedom, more than anything. A military dictatorship wasn't ideal, not when leadership sent teenagers, teens like Shikamaru, her very first friend, to die. He was a genius, but he was young, lazy, inexperienced.

"Shikamaru has been teaching me fuinjutsu," Ino admitted, reaching into the wide obi around her yukata. She pulled out a single scroll. In the night, neither girl could make out the symbols on the long paper. Sakura sucked in a breath and snagged the scroll.

"He could get into so much trouble for this! What are you thinking? Your dad is going to _murder_ both of you!" Sakura shoved the scroll back into Ino's right hand and let out a frustrated groan. Ino grinned, holding tightly to the scroll. "Why are you _like this_? You've completely lost it."

"He'll only kill us if we get caught, and we aren't going to get caught," Ino informed her, lightly knocking the scroll against Sakura's head. "I'll teach you too, if you want."

"So I can go down with you? Real nice," Sakura said, blindly swatting at the scroll still tapping her head. Ino pulled the scroll back and hid it away again, pausing to straighten out her obi. "Isn't it supposed to be really complicated? Naruto's an Uzumaki and he can't do a thing with seals," Sakura stressed, bringing up their mutual friend.

"Naruto is a moron," Ino said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! He's just not book smart. He's street smart," Sakura mumbled, her cheeks flushed. She hated defending Naruto because it gave everyone the wrong idea. Ino laughed and nudged her shoulder against Sakura's. "Does Shikamaru know any medical jutsu?"

"I never asked. You should come with me sometime. You can ask him yourself," Ino suggested. Sakura took her lower lip between her teeth, giving herself a moment to consider the offer. "It's not like we're the only ones. Tenten sees Neji. Did you know that?"

"What about Hinata?"

"She's not cut out for this, and Hiashi is breathing down her neck."

"Ino!"

Inoichi stood on the engawa and called her name, searching for her in the dark backyard. Ino took Sakura's left hand and squeezed, then she dared to lean in and kiss Sakura's cheek. Under the cover of night, lost amongst the greenery, they were still alone. 

"I'll do it. Take me with you," Sakura said, still grasping Ino's hand. Sakura knew the blonde was smiling. Ino kissed her cheek once more, then left the spot beside Sakura. "Wait! I'll see you tomorrow! Come over for lunch," Sakura called out, stopping the girl.

"See you tomorrow then, forehead!"

"Pig!"

"It's so nice to know you two still get along so well," Inoichi greeted Ino, reaching out to tug on her ponytail. "Shikamaru stopped by to see you. He said to tell you he's free tomorrow afternoon," Inoichi informed her, leading the way out of the backyard. Ino followed after him until they were on the street, then they walked side-by-side.

"What? He thinks he might be leaving soon, so we're spending more time together. We're just friends," Ino said, cheeks warming under her father's blank look. He likely saw right through her, but she knew he had no evidence to support his accusations. "I like _Sasuke_ , remember? Dreamy fifteen year old. Every girl wants him," Ino lied, forcing a smile.

"How silly of me. How could I forget?" Inoichi chuckled, shaking his head at her words. She looked up at him and grinned. "Has he written you back?" She almost tripped over her own two feet, her mind momentarily failing her. She'd forgotten the letter she'd sent to the Uchiha. He had been shipped out over two weeks ago. "He didn't," Inoichi decided, frowning. "Ino," he began, cut off by her harsh glare.

"He'll write back. He's just busy. It's war, right? He can't be distracted. He's a good shinobi," Ino rambled, finding that the lies fit so well with the truths. Inoichi nodded, a silent agreement with the words. "Naruto wrote me back."

"You wrote a letter to Naruto?"

"He's a friend too."

Inoichi let the conversation die, and Ino made no attempt to change the subject. They were a few streets away from the clan compound and she didn't feel like discussing her friends. She didn't want to lie anymore, but she seemed to have nothing but lies. They slipped from between her pink lips with every exhale, weaving whatever tales she needed to cover herself and everyone dear to her. Sasuke let Ino pine over him, just as Sakura let Naruto pine over her. They needed one another. In the night, with nothing but the sky, Ino and Sakura were together. At the same time, somewhere far from Konohagakure, Sasuke was with Naruto, fighting to stay alive, fighting to get home. Ino didn't know the truth about what went on with the two boys, but she suspected they were sneaking around, just as she and Sakura snuck around, stealing kisses in shadows, touching in the dark. They'd eventually have to settle down and build some sham of a marriage, maybe with people they couldn't stand. Civilians tended to marry civilians, after all. And Ino? She wondered where she stood.

The lights in her home were still on, signaling her mother had yet to go to bed, which was unusual. The flower shop they owned opened early, door opening at six sharp, as if people needed flowers at such a time. Ino worked alongside her mother, which rarely bothered her. Ino loved flowers. She sought refuge in their arrangements, ikebana adding stability and peace to chaos. They usually dealt with civilians, though shinobi visited too, flowers to capture hearts, flowers to mourn the dead. They sold a lot of white carnations, flowers meant solely to decorate graves.

Tadaima. Okaeri. Ino found her mother in the living room, looking at the family photo album. She wrinkled her nose and took a seat next to the woman. There was a picture of a baby with a little patch of bright blonde hair on her head, so Ino groaned and covered the photo. The baby was chubby, nothing but fat fingers and chunky cheeks. She hated her baby photos. Instead of joining the two on the couch, Inoichi took a seat on the room's lone chair. He stared at the two for a few minutes, simply watching them flip through the pages, then he cleared his throat. As if on cue, Ino's mother, Megumi, closed the photo album and sat it on the coffee table. 

"There's something we need to discuss, Ino," Inoichi began, waiting for Ino to nod. "You aren't a child anymore. You're fifteen now," he said, as if it were so hard to admit the truth. Ino frowned, looking to her mother for some kind of explanation. "We arranged a marriage."

"Excuse me?" Ino narrowed her eyes, hands fisting the fabric of her yukata. She'd dressed up just to have a nice dinner with Sakura's family, and she suddenly felt overdressed, disconnected. She turned toward her mother. "You have to be kidding me. That's ridiculous! Civilian families do that. Not us. Not our clan. We haven't arranged marriages since the second shinobi war!"

"There aren't enough children in the village. The Hokage is pulling from the academy. There are a lot of men dying from our village," Inoichi explained, as if Ino couldn't understand. Ino pursed her lips. Her mother acted as if the conversation weren't taking place. "As clan head, as your father, it's my decision."

"It's my life! I'm tired of people deciding what I can and can't do. It's like everyone and everything is moving backwards. Hashirama would be ashamed of this village!" 

"I spoiled you, and that's my fault. You have no idea what's going on outside of this village. The Hokage is doing his best to hold everything together."

"That's not good enough!"

"Enough, Ino. You don't get to question the Hokage's decisions. This is bigger than you. I'm not asking you to do this. I'm telling you to do this," Inoichi said, ignoring the way she sucked in a breath. She knew her mother wasn't going to defend her, so she sat there and stewed in silence. "Shikaku and I decided that Shikamaru would be the best option. Our clans are already close. He agreed to the marriage." 

"Of course he did. That bastard," Ino muttered. Her mother frowned at her and scolded her for the foul language. Ino forgot her mother hated that language in the house. Inoichi didn't mind. "So what now? I dedicate my life to a guy I don't love? I help feed the war machine with children I don't want?"

"Ino," Megumi finally spoke, seemingly hurt by the words, the implication that Megumi had done just that. If the baby boy hadn't died in infancy, the woman would have successfully bred another shinobi. "You get along with Shikamaru. We thought you would prefer him to Choji."

" _Choji_? He was my other option?" Ino laughed, completely amused by the thought of marrying a boy she merely tolerated. They got along for Shikamaru. "I'll never forgive you for this. I hope you know that." Ino got to her feet and left the room, childishly stomping her way through the house and up the stairs to her bedroom, where she slammed and locked her door. 

Back pressed against her closed bedroom door, Ino listened to her parents talking, their muffled voices gradually growing louder, until she gave up and went to her bedroom window that overlooked the side yard. She opened the window, stuck her head out, and looked down at the trellis, the bamboo design hidden beneath the thick, climbing vines. When the arguing reached a crescendo, Ino slipped out of her window and began a slow, careful descent along the trellis. She paused on the ground, waiting to see if her father had noticed her. He'd once told her that she masked her chakra as well as any trained shinobi. She still waited for him to catch her, to scold her, to drag her back inside. When he didn't, when the argument continued, Ino hurried past the closed main-floor window and out of her yard. Her parents rarely argued, as they typically agreed with one another, but their parenting styles differed.

The village had a curfew in effect, so the streets were rather empty. The curfew had started six months ago, back when the Hokage first broke the news about skirmishes along the western boundary of the Land of Fire. Ino didn't see an end in sight. If others felt the same, they didn't talk about it. People focused on the positives, as if optimism would carry them through the hardships. At one time, Ino had been that naive, and then her father had left for his first mission at the western border. He'd only just returned, and Shikaku had returned with scars. Something had gone wrong, but her father remained quiet, simply saying it was all classified. And her mother left it alone, as if not knowing the story somehow erased what had happened. The woman had constructed a world built on a foundation of blissful ignorance, such a common thing for women. For once, Ino wanted someone as brave as Tsunade had been. A single beacon of hope, the woman an exception based on her heritage, Tsunade had forged a new path. And then she'd disappeared, as if nothing mattered anymore, as if she weren't an example of what being a kunoichi truly meant. 

Ino found herself traversing backwoods paths to reach Nara land, her lack of sandals causing her feet to ache, the bottoms of them quickly covered in dust and dirt and stray blades of grass trampled underfoot. She considered herself a sprite, a wood fairy moving about in the trees. She'd once gotten away with such behavior, but that had been years ago. She knew the deer were further out, but she took care as she walked. When she finally reached Shikamaru's home, she listened for voices or movement, searching for shadows cast along the closed windows, then she crept around to Shikamaru's side of the house. She collected tiny pebbles from alongside the house, then she threw them, one by one, at Shikamaru's window. Too small to attract the attention of Yoshino, hopefully ignored by Shikaku. Shikamaru's window opened and he poked his head out. He looked down at her, then she swore she heard him sigh. 

"Troublesome," he muttered, eyes rolling skyward. "You know curfew started twenty minutes ago. What are you doing here, woman?"

"Don't act dumb. Is your dad home?" Shikamaru shook his head, so she jerked her head towards the back of the house, where she knew he could sneak her inside. "Come on already. My feet hurt," Ino complained, reaching up to straighten her ponytail. She knew it was loose, but she couldn't waste too much time fixing it. Shikamaru disappeared from the window, so she walked to the back of the home. 

"I'm just stepping out," Shikamaru informed his mother. The door opened to the engawa, so Ino climbed up and took a stance away from the door and windows. His eyes immediately went to her bare feet and he arched a brow. He opened his mouth to comment, then he mumbled something and gave up. 

"So you want to marry me now? What were you thinking?" Ino hissed at him, voice covered by the clattering of pots and pans. Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder, then he waved her inside. Together, they crept through the home. While Ino ducked upstairs, Shikamaru went to tell his mother goodnight. Ino waited in his room for him. 

His room was relatively plain. He had a single bed with a nightstand, a dresser, and a chest at the foot of the bed. The room had two lamps, the second a more recent addition, along with a low table and two seats. Ino crossed the room and plopped onto his bed, then he found her rooting through the drawer in his nightstand. She produced a pack of cigarettes and wrinkled her nose at him. She hated the habit.

"I haven't given them up. Don't act so surprised," Shikamaru said, grabbing the cigarettes from her to hide them away in his drawer. He sat down next to her, his bed squeaking under the sudden assault, then he lay back on the bed. "I was thinking it wouldn't be terrible," he shrugged. 

"That's insulting. I'm a catch," Ino huffed, turning her nose up at him. He snorted, turning his head to see the offended look on her face. "So who is she?"

"She's from Suna. There's no way my family would agree to that relationship. Suna and Konoha might be allies, but it's only a matter of convenience, reciprocity. In the end, what difference does it make? Women are all troublesome. You're the least terrible," Shikamaru replied, as if the words were a compliment. Ino balled her fists in her lap and turned to glare at him. He didn't seem phased, and that bothered her even more. "Would you rather marry Choji?"

"Gross. We hardly communicate without you around. You're just," Ino stopped, pausing to lick her lips, "you're not what I was expecting. You aren't terrible. No, you're the 'least terrible.'" Ino used his own words against him and he chuckled. She couldn't imagine them stuck in some ridiculous marriage. They had time, years, but the agreement had been made, and there was nothing she could do. She'd wanted Sakura, so much that it hurt. "I don't like you that way, and I never will," she explained, as if she were going to break his heart. 

"Never," he repeated, seeming to taste the word he spoke. He sat up and took a moment to stare across his room, eyes locked on the lamp on his dresser. "I have an idea—no, I _know_ —but I'd rather you didn't confirm it."

"Alright then. I won't tell you, not that I would have, but I understand."

"I imagined this being a lot worse. I thought you might punch me."

"I still can, Shikamaru." Ino took joy in the unhappy expression on his face. She fell back onto the bed and sighed. "It's probably highly inappropriate for me to stay the night."

"When has that ever stopped you? My dad isn't coming home tonight. As long as you're out of here before my mom wakes me up, I don't care. You're sleeping on the floor though," Shikamaru frowned, eyes traveling to her feet. Ino reached over to slap his back and he grunted, as if she'd actually hurt him. 

"I offered Sakura lessons."

"Of course you did."

"She might really need them! She's so smart, Shikamaru. I'm sure she'll pick up on it. Plus she knows how to keep a secret. I trust her."

Shikamaru slapped Ino's thigh and she almost squealed. When she jerked upright, he moved to lie down in his bed. Huffing, she got up and went to prepare herself a bed on the floor. She muttered to herself, a string of complaints, as she gathered spare blankets from the top shelf in his closet. After she'd finished her bed, Shikamaru tossed one of his pillows at her. She lay awake, listening to the sound of the stairs creaking, the noise signaling his mother's movements. When a shadow blocked the light from the bottom of Shikamaru's door, Ino stilled. Shikamaru turned onto his side so that he could see the door. The woman passed, and Ino released her breath. Yoshino had never been one to say goodnight, but that had been a possibility. Ino curled up on her side, one hand between her cheek and the pillow. 

"Tell me about the western villages again."

"Why? You've heard the stories. They don't change," Shikamaru complained. He couldn't see her expression, but he knew she wasn't happy. "So troublesome. Fine. One story. You can be so childish."

"Shut up and tell me the story, you lazy jerk," Ino said, always one to speak freely with him. He grew quiet, so quiet that she thought he'd fallen asleep, so she called his name. "I know you're pretending to be asleep."

"We ran into Kirigakure," he began, as if she hadn't heard the story dozens of times. "It was an escort mission, C-rank. My squad leader, Asuma, unknowingly led us right into a trap. We almost lost Choji."

Ino dozed off somewhere in the middle of the story, three sentences into the arrival of Team Minato. The information on Team Minato's mission was classified, so no one on Team Asuma knew why the other men were there, only that they were lucky Minato came around when he did. A simple C-rank had gone terribly wrong. Shikamaru could have been gone, another body, more ashes and white carnations. Fifteen was far too young.


	2. Sixteen

Ino lit the cigarette and inhaled, the flavor and smoke and nicotine providing everything she lacked. She'd hated smoking, but Shikamaru had gotten her into the habit. They bonded over cigarettes, just as she and Sakura bonded over stolen sake. One year older. One more year of war. Even under the forgiving light of the setting sun, the village looked different. The food stalls lacked the variety villagers knew during the time before the third war, the selections so dependent on trade and imports, things that war had limited. Citrus fruits had been hit the worst, as the Land of Water had supplied most of the fruit. Konoha relied on coastal villages for the supply. Red meat took a hit, since farmers were forced to relocate. The Hokage talked about food rationing soon, but had yet to make a formal announcement. Ino suspected it was the civilian council negotiating against the idea. Food rationing would impact civilian families more than shinobi families. Everyone knew that. The village newspaper left out a lot of important information, filling page upon page with nothing but pure propaganda. Become a shinobi. Starting mission rates now higher than ever. Ino closed the paper, rolled it up into a ball, and tossed it into the wastebasket in Shikamaru's room. 

Sakura sat on the floor, squinting at a medical textbook. The two pages had images of the human body, one page for muscles, another for bones. Ino took another drag from her cigarette, then she turned her head toward the open window and exhaled the smoke, allowing the light breeze to carry the smoke away. Yoshino hated when Shikamaru smoked in the house, so Ino did her best to spare him the scolding. 

"You should be studying," Sakura said, not looking up from her book. Ino sighed, choosing to be dramatic. Sakura finally glanced up, their eyes meeting for a moment. "I'm serious. _You_ wanted to apply to be nurses when the Hokage opened up the hospital for women. Get your ass over here and let me quiz you."

"Fine. You're better at this than I am," Ino said, jabbing the lit end of her cigarette at the inside of a glass ashtray. She sat the ashtray back onto Shikamaru's bedside table, then she stashed the cigarettes in the drawer. "Start with muscles again. I know the bones."

Shikamaru arrived forty minutes later, and he wasted no time crossing his bedroom to collapse on his bed. He flopped down on the bedspread, face pressed into the mattress. He didn't seem to care that both girls were present. He lay there and listened to Ino rattle off the names of muscles until he eventually turned his head for more air.

"More training today?" Sakura spoke first, interrupting Ino and ending the study session. Shikamaru grunted in response, unable to muster the strength for anything more. Ino rested a hand atop Sakura's right thigh, then she shook her head. Shikamaru had seen war, and more training meant another visit to the front lines. Sakura bit down on her lower lip, green eyes moving from Shikamaru's prone form to the hand on her thigh.

"You can rest on your own time. Let's go," Ino complained, drawing the topic away from the ongoing war. Shikamaru shifted around so he lay on his back, then he sniffed at the air. He turned an accusing look on Ino. "The window was open! Just let it air out a little more," Ino defended herself, a pout following.

"I'm not a seal master, Ino. I thought you were going to befriend Minato," Shikamaru said, looking from one expectant face to the other. Ino reached out to snag her backpack and drag it across the floor, then she rooted around in her bag for a minute or two. When she pulled her hand out, she had a three-pronged kunai. "What did you do?" Shikamaru jerked upright, eyes on one of Minato's kunai.

"Ino! What are you thinking? He's going to notice it's gone!" Sakura grabbed the kunai and wrestled it from Ino's hand. Her eyes danced over the weapon, taking in the writing etched into the metal. "You can't be serious. He's a genius, a prodigy. Please tell me you don't want to experiment with this seal, make a huge mistake, and blow up a three-block radius."

"Stop exaggerating. We've exhausted the scrolls Shikamaru was able to get, so I thought I'd borrow a kunai. Minato won't notice. He'll think he misplaced it," Ino said, waving them off.

"He can teleport to its location, Ino! This is reckless, even for you!" Sakura tapped the handle of the kunai against Ino's head. "Get rid of it. Shikamaru, tell her to get rid of it." Sakura turned to look at Shikamaru, but he had shifted his attention to the open window. A bird settled there, looking into Shikamaru's room. Sakura slammed her textbook closed and the bird took off.

"Only two people have mastered that, Ino," Shikamaru began, interrupted by Ino's soft snort. "What you're looking at right now is a new interpretation of the Nidaime's seal. Anything you manage to get from it will likely be a bastardized version," Shikamaru said, earning a scowl.

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean? You're the one who said 'with time and patience' I could master fuinjutsu. So you lied, huh?"

"Ino, this isn't an explosive tag or a storage scroll. It's not even barrier seals," Shikamaru explained, followed by a sigh and a muttered "troublesome." Ino squinted at the symbols on the kunai. Nothing about the fuinjutsu seemed all that complicated to her. She'd seen more complicated seals. "You and Sakura are in the first graduating class of female medics. Isn't that enough for you?"

"It's a start."

Sakura stuffed the kunai into the backpack, then threw the medical textbook on top of it. Ino mumbled a few words about being careful and being ungrateful, but they were ignored. Ino crossed her arms over her chest, a stubborn stance meant to ward off the judgmental looks. Sakura turned toward Ino and rested both hands on the blonde's shoulders. Ino always surrendered under those green eyes. Even though she wanted to argue, she closed her eyes, counted to ten, and nodded. She would return the kunai. She'd simply nicked it from amongst his things while he was at the hospital. Perhaps it had been reckless, but the opportunity presented itself. The problem quickly became returning it, as she didn't think she could turn up at his home claiming she found it on the ground. She'd gone through his belongings. Ino sighed and reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose. 

"Just tell him you found it at the hospital," Shikamaru said, always on the same page. When she didn't respond, he shook his head at her. "If you add more details, you look guilty. Give him just enough information to make yourself look innocent."

"He was released this morning. Just tell him you found it in his room, that someone must have missed it. I'll go with you, if you want. Maybe we could act like fangirls? He has a lot of those. If he connects the dots, we'll look ridiculous, but it's better than the alternative," Sakura spoke up, hands falling from Ino's shoulders.

"I heard he had a lot of fangirls leaving flowers at the hospital. It wouldn't be a stretch," Shikamaru agreed, shrugging his shoulders. He'd moved beyond the conversation, as he had one hand in the bedside table, looking for his pack of cigarettes. "You should return it now, before it gets too late."

"You just want a free afternoon. We'll be back tomorrow, you know," Ino began, getting to her feet. Sakura grabbed the backpack and slung a strap over one shoulder. Shikamaru was already up and moving toward the window, cigarette and lighter in hand. 

"I won't be here."

Both girls froze, and Ino suddenly felt Sakura take her hand. She felt as if their joined hands kept her from falling apart. Her mind went through Shikamaru's funeral, from the beautiful floral arrangements to heartfelt speeches about his bravery. Sakura squeezed her hand and she turned to stare into Sakura's eyes. Had they always been so green? Neither girl knew what to say. He'd tasted war, been at the front lines too many times, but every goodbye was just as difficult as the first time. How long before war devoured him too? They'd already lost Kiba. Slowly, Ino mustered the strength and turned to catch his eyes. She forced a smirk, half-hearted as it was, and squeezed Sakura's hand, communicating everything she truly wanted to convey.

"Kick their asses, alright?"

"That sounds exhausting."

He smirked at her, and she saw so much in his eyes. He was more expressive than people realized. She knew him so well. He was scared. She was scared. But fear wouldn't change a thing. She was outside when she finally realized she was still holding Sakura's hand. She never wanted to let go.

Minato lived in a nice housing complex downtown, the exterior a cheery sky blue that rivaled his blue eyes. Ino didn't know his deployment schedule, but she knew he was a celebrity, as far as shinobi went, and the Hokage liked to use him as much as possible, without interfering with his position as a sensei. Then again, his students had made chunin years back -- one had even made jonin. Maybe he wasn't a sensei after all. Sakura talked about her day for most of the walk, and Ino listened, because Sakura had a habit of scrunching her nose when she disliked something, and Ino thought it was adorable. When they reached the apartment building, Ino read the names on the mailboxes, then went in search of the man's apartment. She didn't know how to proceed, except as a mindless fan girl; Sakura must have seen something in her posture because their hands brushed, fingers sliding against one another. 

"He's actually kind of cute," Sakura said, head tipped in thought, "in a charming kind of way. His wife is insane though. It would balance them out. I can't remember her name. Maybe Keiko? No. Kita? K-something for sure."

"So she might murder us on his welcome mat because we seem obsessed with him?" Ino sighed and straightened her ponytail. It was a nervous habit, since she couldn't run her fingers through her hair. Together, they stood before Minato's front door. "Remember, Sakura. Rabid fangirls."

"Got it," Sakura grinned, nudging her side with a bony elbow. Sakura was the one to knock on the door, while Ino began digging through the backpack on her girlfriend's back. After Ino found the kunai, she gave it a little wave and closed the bag again. "I heard from Sasuke again. He says hello. He and Naruto wrote a joint letter. They're so gay it hurts. Think Naruto's parents will remember us? We've only been over once."

"We're much better than them," Ino agreed, flashing a peace sign. Before Ino could answer Sakura's question, the door opened and both girls turned, expecting Minato; instead, they found a redhead looking just as confused as they were. "Namikaze residence?" Ino arched a brow and the redhead smiled.

"This is it! Minato is busy right now! Just call me Kushina."

"Aha! I knew it started with a K," Sakura exclaimed. She shared a small laugh with Kushina, but the redhead eventually noticed the kunai in Ino's hand. Sakura nudged her girlfriend.

"Who is it?" Minato appeared in the doorway. He wore a frilly pink apron and had blue icing smeared on his right cheek. He looked between both teens, then his eyes settled on the kunai. Kushina jabbed a finger into his stomach. "I know, I know. You told me to stop misplacing them, but I didn't know this one was gone! Where did you girls find it?"

"The hospital."

"Lost and found."

"The hospital lost and found."

They both spoke at once, then Ino wrapped it up with a believable lie. Kushina looked unimpressed, while Minato wiped his hands off on a dish towel hanging over his right shoulder. He went to take the kunai, but Kushina quickly ushered the teens inside, closing the door behind them. That wasn't part of the plan, so Sakura sent a quick, panicked look at Ino and Ino shook her head. They were operating beyond the scope of their mission, and it was definitely a mission. They went from standing on Minato's doorstep to sitting in his living room. The couch was nice, a light shade of grey, and there were no springs jabbing her, so it was already better than some places she'd visited. Ino noticed a startling similarity between Naruto and Minato, and Sakura must have felt the same way, since they both stared at the man. He'd spoken to them and neither girl had caught a word.

"Did anyone at the hospital mention where they found this?" Minato had collected the kunai and examined it closely. Just as Ino opened her mouth, Sakura blurted out a response.

"Nope! No clue. We just saw this as an opportunity to see the famous Yellow Flash, so we said we'd return it! Thanks for the hospitality! Bye now!" Sakura grabbed Ino's hand and they quickly fled the apartment, leaving a stunned Minato and Kushina in their wake.

Outside of the apartment, Sakura stopped to look at Ino, but they saw the curtains of the front window part, so they fled the building. Although Sakura carried the weight of their medical texts, Ino carried the weight of the seal hidden away in her room. What Sakura didn't know wouldn't hurt her.


	3. Seventeen

The branches of the old pear tree tapped in rhythm against her window. The paper had called for severe thunderstorms throughout the day, and the lightning and thunder had started around noon. The rain fell in sheets, the type of hard rain that hurt a person. The wind howled, carrying away unsecured objects, violently shaking the tree branches. Flooding was an issue, but Ino remained cool and dry inside of her bedroom, curled up with Sakura. Her head on Sakura's lap, she listened to the girl talk about poetry she'd stumbled across while visiting the library. Sakura was such a nerd, but Ino didn't mind; in fact, Ino loved that about Sakura. The girl was smart, sharp, and she'd taken to nursing as if she'd been born for it. Ino wasn't spectacular, but she exceeded expectations. Her parents were proud of her, and she couldn't ask for more. She wanted the rain to stop, but the clouds were dark and heavy, promising hours of soggy weather. Sakura didn't mind the rain, but Ino wanted nothing but sunshine every day of the week.

"You aren't even listening, Ino-pig!"

"Your hair is getting long again," Ino commented, reaching up to tug on a long strand of pink hair. Sakura blushed and knocked her hand away. "I thought you didn't like your hair long." Ino brushed her fingers through the hair that fell over Sakura's right shoulder. 

"You like long hair," Sakura admitted, taking Ino's hand in her own. Ino smiled at her and lightly flicked Sakura's chin. "You don't like it?"

"I don't care whether it's long or short. You still look beautiful," Ino said, delighting in the blush on Sakura's fair cheeks. Ino leaned up and they shared a kiss, then Ino sat up and pulled Sakura in for a hug that lasted far too long. "Shikamaru should be back sometime this week." It was a subject change, but neither girl minded. "He's already talking about sleeping and cloud watching. All Choji talked about was food."

"I can't blame them. It's camping and rations," Sakura replied, wrinkling her nose. She'd tasted some of the food shinobi survived off of and it tasted like cardboard. "Sasuke wrote me back. They lost contact with the tracking unit a week ago. I'm sure they're fine," she lied, mostly for her own benefit. Sakura enjoyed spending time with Kiba and Shino. "Hinata isn't taking it too well."

Ino didn't know what to say, without accusing Sakura of hiding her feelings. Ino didn't mind the two boys—Shino's bugs were gross and Kiba was way too loud, but they were in the same age group—they'd grown up together. Ino had heard that Sasuke's cousin, Obito, had disappeared on a mission, and he'd been labeled KIA, even without a corpse. Too many graves were empty, but that was war. No nation believed in prisoners of war. Ino sat up just as thunder boomed and rattled the bedroom windows. Sakura jumped and then tried to pass it off as a shiver, so Ino decided to play along. When another boom followed, that one different from the harsh clap of thunder, Ino slowly got to her feet; she crossed her bedroom and peered out of the window, and then another boom rattled the glass. It wasn't thunder. All at once, the village sirens went off and both girls began scrambling to throw clothes on. Sakura wore a loose-fitting white shirt with a smiling sun on it and a pair of tan shorts, while Ino wore a plum-colored crop top and a pair of black shorts. It wasn't hospital-approved clothing, nothing regulation, but the village was under attack and they needed to prioritize getting to the hospital.

They ran into Ino's mother on their way toward the front door, so Ino demanded she go to one of the bunkers. Megumi, clearly in shock, started talking about preparing dinner, so Ino and Sakura had to drag the woman from the house. When they saw other clansmen, they passed Megumi off to a group of women and then continued on the route to the hospital. The streets became a fractured mess, with water lines broken, dumping rivers of water through the already flooded streets. Their sandals were soaking wet and made running difficult, but with the jagged rocks and broken glass from windows and storefronts, they couldn't remove them. Around them, all available shinobi split off into two parties, one dedicated to fighting the enemy and one dedicated to saving men, women, and children unable to defend themselves. 

"Look! It's Kushina!" 

"Did she just hit that Iwa shinobi with a frying pan?" Ino almost fell into a hole, so Sakura yanked on her arm to stop her. "Huh. She can cook and kick ass, forehead," Ino joked.

Their hair plastered to their heads, they ran past shinobi ordering them into the bunkers. Without warning, lightning lit up the sky and struck one of the transformers. Sparks rained down from overhead and Ino threw herself into Sakura to keep the girl from getting crushed under debris. One by one, buildings began to fall, the sound deafening, intermixed with explosions. The sound of the thunderstorm had faded into the background, merely a steady tempo for the destruction of Konoha. Both girls knew they didn't have enough shinobi left to properly defend the village. Forces were spread out across the nation, branched out into separate nations, leaving the injured, the inexperienced, and the elderly. Halfway to the hospital, an Iwa nin closed a hand around Sakura's bicep and dragged her away from Ino. Ino shouted her name and watched in wonder as Sakura rotated, channeled chakra into her fist, and punched the guy through a wall. Both girls stopped to stare at Sakura's fist.

"That was amazing!"

"Yeah? It felt great!"

They resumed running, but they didn't get very far. The hospital was nothing but smoking rubble. Around them, the village was chaos embodied. Sakura took another step to run toward the hospital, but Ino stopped her. Ino saw the Iwa shinobi slaughtering people all around them, so she chose to flee. She dragged Sakura off the main road and they started running through the alleys. Their sandals squeaked as they ran, still damp from time spent traversing flooded main roads. When they reached the post office, they took in the broken picture window and stepped into the building, crushing glass under feet. There was access to one of the bunkers, but it required a shinobi. Covered in sweat and dirt and dust, Ino scrambled to work through the seal on the bunker entrance. As she hurriedly tried to decipher the seals, Ino instructed Sakura to keep watch. Sakura went to the front room and hid behind the long counter, where she peered around the side to watch people running past. 

"Hurry up! They're coming!"

"I'm trying, stupid!"

"Try harder!"

Ino finally gained access to the bunker, so she called Sakura's name and they descended the metal ladder into the dark room. A system of tunnels linked the village's bunkers, but Ino's first priority was to secure the entrance. She knew barrier seals better than anyone she knew, so she sealed the steel door shut and reinforced it, then she dropped back down to the dirt floor. In the darkness, she couldn't see much, so she and Sakura spent time looking for a light of some sort. In the end, Sakura found a torch that they lit with friction. The tunnel leading out of the bunker was blocked, so they were on their own. Ino punched the stones blocking their way, but Sakura pulled her away before she caused the whole ceiling to collapse. They listened to the echoes of explosions and the rattling of the latch. They were trapped.

"I really don't see a way out of this one," Ino quietly admitted, her eyes downcast. Underground, they couldn't hear the heavy rain of the thunderstorm. Sakura grabbed Ino by the shoulders and pulled her in for a quick, rough kiss that tasted like sweat and dust. Ino embraced Sakura. "I could try reinforcing the seals, but they've broken through the first ones. We have an hour, maybe two. I can rig it to explode?"

"I can probably punch some people. You're great with chakra scalpels. We can get out of this. We can put the torch out and take them by surprise! If we're going to die here, I want to go out fighting. Don't you?"

"I don't want to go out at all, but you're right. Let's get rid of the ladder. We can put one big chakra suppressor seal at the bottom and go from there. Yeah, this might work!"

They worked together to complete the seal, then they began examining the rocks blocking the tunnel. Ino was sure that she could find a loose spot somewhere, or at least make enough room so that they could wiggle through, but the time was wasted. When the hatch finally opened, Sakura had extinguished the torch and both girls waited in the dark, tense, ready. When an Iwa nin stumbled across the torch, Sakura pounced and punched him as hard as she could, sending him flying into the three other shinobi. Ino had circled around, so she engaged with one of the men. By the time one shinobi had managed to get the torch going, two men were down. Ino watched in horror as a shinobi grabbed Sakura around the waist and lifted her into the air. Ino shoved the other guy aside, but he grabbed her hand and held her back, so she sliced his hand off. There was a kunai to Sakura's throat, and Ino had never felt so helpless. She stopped moving and held her hands up in a passive gesture, but she saw the muscles on the man's arm and she knew they weren't making it out alive, because if Sakura went down, Ino was damn well going to take the remaining two shinobi with her.

In hindsight, it was stupid, reckless, irresponsible—Ino could think of a thousand ways to describe her decision—but she'd wanted to save the girl she loved. She used an untested seal based around the same principle of the hiraishin, the quick movement from one space to another. The entire room lit up with sealwork and Ino focused and teleported, but something went wrong—she knew something had gone wrong. She slammed into Sakura and they all smacked into the wall. The Iwa nin absorbed the blow, his head slamming against the hard stone wall. The room became unbearably hot in a short amount of time, the kind of hot that had both girls sweating, the kind of hot that they could feel over every inch of their bodies.

"What did you do?"

"I-I don't know! It shouldn't be doing this!"

The earth around them began to rumble and the intricate seal began to warp, the color changing from blue to green to red, all in quick succession. Sakura covered her mouth with her hands and began to cry, all while blubbering on about Ino's skin. Ino stared down at her hands and watched as she began to disappear, as if fading away. Slowly, Sakura began to go through the same process. And Ino couldn't explain it. She couldn't take Sakura's hand. She couldn't kiss Sakura's lips. They'd taken out shinobi together, and they were dying together. 

"I'm so sorry, Sakura! I'm so sorry!"

"Ino!"

The rumbling stopped and the seal went dark, fading away in the way that both girls had faded away. When both girls regained consciousness, they awoke in a field littered with lavender, the purple stretching across the rolling hill. They had blood dribbling from their noses, but Ino didn't see anything else wrong with Sakura, and Sakura quickly shook her head at Ino. Wherever they were, they were relatively unscathed. The seal hadn't worked properly. She was able to teleport, as the seal intended, but it was unstable and she should have tested it before deciding to throw it into use in the heat of the moment. Neither girl made a move to stand. Sakura threw herself back onto the grass, so Ino crawled over to her side and lay down. Wherever they were, they were safe. Overhead, the night sky welcomed them to freedom. Eventually, they would have to find their way back to Konoha. 

"You are _never_ going to use an untested seal like that again," Sakura hissed, turning her head to glare at the blonde. Ino could have kissed her. "I thought you were dead," Sakura whispered, the words so quiet that Ino almost missed them.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to kill us," Ino boldly declared, a sassy smirk on her face. At first, Sakura laughed, but then she began to cry, and Ino felt immensely worse. "I'm not dead. We're not dead. We'll go back. Come on, let's go. I'll even carry you."

"Do you even know where we are?"

"Yeah. I came here a lot with Shikamaru. He likes the view of the sky, but I like the flowers." Ino helped Sakura up, then Sakura hopped onto her back. Ino gave her a piggyback ride across the field, their destination just over the hill, located in the valley. "And we're home," Ino proudly announced.

"Ino, there's nothing here."

"That's not possible. The village should be right here. I know this field."

"Maybe you made a mistake."

"I didn't make a mistake. Look! There's the Naka River. It's just," Ino trailed off, adjusting her hold on Sakura's legs, "it's not here. I don't get it. What the hell did that seal even do? Did it destroy the village?" Ino began a slow descent down the hill, while Sakura surveyed their surroundings. Neither girl knew what to make of the turn of events. 

"It didn't destroy the village," Sakura concluded. She lifted her arm and stretched it out before them to point at the cliffside, the bare cliffside. The Hokage monument was gone. "Did we just time travel?"

"That's stupid. Of course we didn't time travel. No one time travels, forehead," Ino said, rolling her eyes. But she couldn't explain the absence of the village. The grass was long, tickling her calves, showing that the village hadn't been there. Somehow, they'd time traveled. "Fine. I think we time traveled. We're back before the founding or so far into the future that there's nothing left. Great."

"You don't know how to get us back, do you?"

"Nope."

"Sometimes I really, really don't like you, and now is one of those times."


End file.
